Navarro College Welding Technology Professor and Department Chair Ron Brooks has worn many hats in his career, but it just so happens that a welding hood fit best. Mr. Brooks first started welding for his dad in 1982, at the age of 17, and has since fallen in love with the industry, artistry, and now – teaching his craft.
Ron Brooks joined Navarro College in July 2022, after a successful run in the energy sector and oil and gas industries. These endeavors garnered accolades beyond state lines and onto a global scale. Some of his largest projects include welding submarines for underwater oil exploration, and welding and inspecting B2 bombers. Mr. Brooks has completed teaching assignments in seven countries on five continents, and at one point called Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia a home away from home. Now a professor for Navarro College’s Welding Technology program, Mr. Brooks travels have slowed, but his enthusiasm has not.
Ron Brooks was welcomed to Navarro College at a time of increased innovation and advancement across all career and technical programs. A recipient of a Texas Workforce Commission grant, Navarro College was able to purchase all new welding equipment, including multiple virtual reality welding kits, two Cooper® CRX-10iA/L air-cooled welding cobots, and Torchmate® 4400 plasma cutter. In addition, the Welding on Wheels mobile welding lab was also secured through the grant. This unit contains eight welding bays within the 53-foot trailer and is used for welding instruction at the Waxahachie campus. Evolutions in technology warranted an equal progression in instruction, and Mr. Brooks was up for the challenge. In Ron Brooks, Navarro College has found not just a teacher but an industry expert whose journey from welding booths to the classrooms is a story worth celebrating. “To have this caliber of equipment at our disposal is something to be really grateful for,” states professor Brooks. “I enjoy building the curriculum around the advanced technology that we have at Navarro, so that our students have appropriate exposure to materials and techniques that they will utilize in the workforce.”
It is without question that Ron Brooks left his mark in the world of metalworking, and he desires the same success for his students. “I have the utmost confidence in my students that when they graduate, they will experience personal and professional success in the workforce and continue to perfect their skill set in the art of welding.”
For more information about welding technology and certificates and degrees offered at Navarro College, please visit navarrocollege.edu/academics/welding or call 903-875-7573.
